Personally, this makes me extremely happy. They are definitely showing great support for the competitive Smash community, but it doesn't really matter if things like wave dashing and L-canceling are still absent from Smash 4 in the final release.

I don't think Nintendo was ever really against EVO. They probably just feel irked that some people prefer Melee over Brawl, and that's the game they are giving publicity to. They should do Pikmin 3 vs, IMO.

It would never happen, but Pikmin is strategy-like enough that Nintendo could put a legit competitive worthy mode if they tried. I'm not sure Battle Bingo is enough (or popular enough) to count even in the same place as Skull Girls though (even going purely on sales)

I'll be a bit surprised if Nintendo doesn't take Smash Bros for Wii U for people to play at EVO. One of the best things Microsoft did for KI was get it in the hands of the FGC as many times as they possibly could holding character reveals at major gaming events and inviting this crowd to play the latest build of the game.

WAT!

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I don't think Nintendo was ever really against EVO. They probably just feel irked that some people prefer Melee over Brawl, and that's the game they are giving publicity to.

Nah, there was some very specific stuff going on. First off, the EVO planners got permission from Nintendo to publicly present a Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament, which Nintendo thought to be livestream only. But when they found out that it would be shown on stage, they thought EVO was trying to cash in on Melee (more interest = more sold tickets), which is why they overreacted and prohibited the tournament seemingly out of nowhere. But when fan pressure got the best of them, they gave in.
I think this time they are well-aware about the point of EVO, and sponsoring the event not only makes up for the stunt they pulled last year, it also allows them to present the new Smash in a more natural way through dedicated players. That works much better than any Nintendo Direct.